FW company to IPO; BNSF wins track inspection appeal; Casual suits us;

BNSF won its bid to expand the use of automated track inspection technology after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined the Department of Transportation failed to provide a valid reason to deny the waiver request.

Fort Worth-based Actuate Therapeutics will IPO this week, offering 5.6 million shares priced at $8-$10.  Its lead drug, Elraglusib, has shown tremendous potential in treatments of advanced cancers when used alone or in combination with other types of cancer therapies, including chemotherapy and immune modulators. 

A Texas medical panel approved guidance for doctors working under one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bans. However, it refused to list specific exceptions to the law, which doctors have complained is dangerously unclear.

Work on a new Omni Theater began June 13 last year. It is expected to reopen this fall. The new dome, which measures 40’ tall and 80’ in diameter, will consist of 10x10-inch magnetized digital panels. Fort Worth Magazine has an update.

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Netflix House, one of the first two permanent experiential exhibits in the country, is coming to The Galleria in Dallas. It will immerse users in their favorite movies and shows, and offer themed food and drinks, interactive games, artwork, live entertainment and branded merchandise. 

H-E-B will open its second Tarrant County store at 6 a.m. Wednesday at 1670 E. Broad St. in Mansfield. The first opening was in the Alliance area.

Applications are due July 19 for the Fort Worth Chamber’s 2024 Small Business of the Year Award. Presented by Bank of Texas, the award recognizes and honors Fort Worth small businesses that have demonstrated exemplary best practices in business. A business does not have to be a Chamber member to enter.

Restaurant roundup:

• First-time franchisee David Goldblatt will openVoodoo Brewing Co. at 1001 S. Main St. in Fort Worth. The Pennsylvania-based taproom will offer craft beers and pub fare and open in July.

• Volstead Prohibition Era Bar and Kitchen has opened in Southlake at 2750 E. Southlake Blvd in a former Fish City Grill. The menu for the speakeasy-style restaurant is American with a special focus on seafood.

• Wild Salsa, the Mexico City-style restaurant and tequila bar at 300 Throckmorton St. in downtown Fort Worth, has reopened. The made-from-scratch menu features a la carte street tacos and main entrees such as lamb shank barbacoa.

Amazon plans to debut next month an upgraded version of Alexa capable of complex prompts. For example, it can compose and send an email, order dinner with a single command, or turn on your coffee maker when your alarm goes off. The higher-tier version reportedly will cost between $5 and $10 monthly and has been dubbed Remarkable Alexa. Critics think it will be a hard sell.

Put a temporary swimming pool inside a football stadium? That’s what happened recently when the U.S. Olympic team trials took place in Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. Competitive swimming is growing in popularity and recently has had capacity problems. Engineers built two pools on top of the turf and pumped 1,200 gallons of water per minute for 13 hours from fire hydrants. (WSJ gift article)

Suits us just fine. As office dress codes have relaxed, suits have become less necessary. Just 22 percent of respondents said they wore business-professional clothing to work, according to a YouGov study. 51 percent of adults, including 33 percent of men and 68 percent of women, said they don't own a suit. Among men, 23 percent reported owning one suit, 16 percent owned two, 10 percent owned three, and 15 percent of men owned four or more suits.

We’re not buying it. American consumers are holding onto some of their largest purchases for longer. That creates repercussions for the companies and people who sell those goods. The average age of a passenger car has increased from 11 years in 2014 to 14 years today, and people are living in their homes an average of 11.9 years, up from 6.5 years in 2005.

Legal listicle:

• Attorneys for TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance Ltd. said in a court filing that they had negotiated a 90-page national security agreement with the U.S. to offer “multi-layered safeguards and enforcement mechanisms,” but Congress disregarded that groundwork when enacting its ban this year.

• Texas reached a $10.22 million settlement with AT&T Mobility, LLC, Cricket Wireless, LLC, T-Mobile USA, Inc., Cellco Partnership, d/b/a Verizon Wireless, and TracFone Wireless, Inc., to resolve the Texas Attorney General office's investigations into the wireless carriers’ deceptive and misleading advertising practices.

• In a win for criminal defendants, theSupreme Court ruled in a gun case that juries — not judges — must decide certain facts about whether a person is a habitual offender, which makes them eligible for a tougher sentence.

• The Supreme Court upheld a federal ban on gun possession for anyone covered by a domestic violence court order. The vote was 8-to-1, with only Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting. It is a win for victim advocates. 

Snippets:

• If you pay your Tarrant County property taxes in two payments, the second is due July 1. 

• High praise for a TCU Professor's debut novel.

• Should GameStop ditch retail and become a holding company?

• 5 major Supreme Court decisions due before session ends.

• Does the mistake on the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl rings make them more valuable? 

• Americans throw away up to $68 million in coins a year. Here is where it all ends up. (WSJ gift article)

• Target is testing a chatbot app that would provide workers guidance on how to help customers.

Announcements:

• TCU Neeley School of Business: Hires Sammie Rodriguez as director of marketing and engagement for executive education program.

• Schaefer Advertising Co: Hires Katie Betik as account supervisor of real estate and economic development.

• MassChallenge: AppointsMichelle Williams as its vice president of Texas strategy.

• El Paso,TX: Hires Dr. Veerinder “Vinny” Taneja, the former public health director of Tarrant County. 

• Dental Symphony: Adds title of director of operations and business development to Bree Cockerell. 

• Peppr!: Hires Raymond Ferguson as senior territory manager.